The present disclosure generally relates to an edge-lit indicator for an appliance dispenser and more particularly to an ice and water dispenser for a refrigerator.
Many refrigerators have built in dispensers for ice and/or water. Often located in a refrigerator or freezer door, a dispenser is typically configured to dispense crushed or cubed ice directly from a built in ice maker, and to dispense water from a connection to a water line that feeds the water dispenser and ice maker. Typically, a receptacle such as a glass is pressed against a built in paddle beneath the dispenser, dropping ice and/or water into the receptacle. The paddle may be lit, e.g., via LED, for easy location by the user in low-light situations. Dispensers may have more than one paddle to facilitate dispensing different items. For example, a dispenser may have three paddles side by side configured to dispense water, crushed ice and ice cubes, respectively.
Other dispensers may have one paddle that may be configured to dispense a number of different items in different modes depending on a user input such as a button or switch. Typically, the dispenser has a display that may indicate the current mode prior to dispensing the respective item, for example, by displaying the mode, e.g., via an LED, when the display is touched. This configuration has the disadvantage of requiring a user to perform an additional physical step before verifying the mode. These displays may also require at least one LED for each mode, and each indicator for each respective mode is in a different location of the display. In addition, the display may have other, unrelated LEDs that make it more difficult for a user to quickly locate information about the current dispenser mode. LED backlit displays may also exhibit uneven light distribution within an indicator, or else require multiple LEDs for each indicator. Other displays have indicators that are always on so as not to require input from the user prior to displaying the mode, but still have all the other drawbacks listed above.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system that addresses at least some of the problems identified above.